Produced: 17 December 1964 to 8 January 1965
UK Premiere (London, Season 4): 4 November 1965
US Premiere (New York, Season 1): 11 July 1966

Emma proves she has as much brains as looks as she
helps Steed match wits with cerebral crooks. (Hey, it rhymes!) Their plot to steal a nuclear
missile starts to unravel when one of their group, a respected politician, gets caught while
trying to steal top secret documents.

IMHO

Lots of sharp dialog, especially when Emma is outstripping Steed in the intelligence
department. The obligatory fight, which occurs while a military training film is being projected
backwards, is a classic example of the show's offbeat charm. Interesting that Emma voluntarily
helps Steed unpack in his room at the school...

What did Steed
have written on his shirt cuff while he was taking the Ransack test? Find out in
Cuff Stuff by James Warren.

For those who simply cannot get enough of Emma, here's a composite
image of her in her party outfit. There's also a rare composite of Steed at left.

Acronym Alert: The meaning of RANSACK
is under investigation. James Warren suggests that it might not be an acronym at all (and I
tend to agree); their organization might simply be called "Ransack"—appropriate, as it seems
that's what they do best. He muses that it could conceivably be a modified anagram of
CRANKS, which a colloquialism used to refer to "progressive schools"—as in a "crank school,"
where one would find the Einsteins and Hawkings of the world. Then again, he concludes, this
"might be too clever to be real."

On Location

The ever-popular Haberdasher's Askes School grounds were used for this episode—see
On Location for a recent view.

Best Scene

After being told "Your facetiousness, Mr. Steed, covers an edgy temperament. In fact, I'd say
your nerves mostly jangle like wires in the wind," Steed psychoanalyzes the psychiatrist Sir
Fergus Campbell, who Steed learns avoided military service due to sea-sickness. "Traces of an
incipient inferiority complex. I should watch that!"

Best Line

While Emma enjoys the trampoline, Steed complains, "Look, do you mind, it's like watching a
game of perpendicular tennis!"